About Friends of Accotink Creek

Summary Profile of the Accotink Creek Watershed

Detailed Profile of the Accotink Creek Watershed

Accotink Creek runs through one of the finest wildlife corridors in Fairfax County. Accotink Creek passes through Eakin, Wakefield, Lake Accotink and Accotink Stream Valley Parks; Ft. Belvoir and the Accotink Bay Wildlife Refuge, then drains into the Potomac River, affecting waters of Chesapeake Bay.
We, the Friends of Accotink Creek, are committed to protecting, promoting and restoring the water quality, natural habitat, and ecological well-being of the Accotink Creek watershed. We intend to:

Foster environmental awareness, education, and enhance recreational use;
Reduce storm runoff and its effects; restore habitats, preserve land; and
Enlist broad-based public and organization participation and support.

Contact Friends of Accotink Creek

Join Friends of Accotink Creek

The Friends of Accotink Creek Board of Conservators:

Primary Conservator - Sandy Collins
Term of office - January 1, 2023 to December 31, 2024        (First term began January 1, 2019)
Sandy is a Senior Vice President specializing in natural resources assessments and permit compliance at AKRF, Inc. She has conducted ecological studies and permitting for major waterfront parks, coastal resiliency and adaptation studies, art installations, and other civic projects. Her experience includes field investigations to evaluate environmental impacts, including aquatic and terrestrial biota surveys and water quality and environmental impact assessments, including impacts of stormwater management.
Sandy earned a master's degree and bachelor's degree from Lehigh University.

Secondary Conservator - Avril Garland
Term of office - January 1, 2023 to December 31, 2024        (First term began January 1, 2021)
Lives in Vienna, Va. Invasive management site leader for Accotink Trail trailhead. (on the boundary of Vienna and Fairfax), member of Sierra Club.
A personal belief: "We do not inherit the earth from our parents; we borrow it from our children". Chief Seattle
Respect silence: No one should intrude upon the small scraps of it left in our increasingly noisy world without a pretty sound reason. Firing up gas-powered landscape equipment is not one of them. No one should dump their acoustic trash into the yards and homes of their neighbors.

Purser - Dave Lincoln
Term of office - January 1, 2024 to December 31, 2025        (First term began January 1, 2024)
Having seen a lot of trash sailing the seven seas in the Navy, and while sailing and kayaking the Potomac, Dave enjoys working with Friends who work to nip it in the bud. He lives along the Accotink in Springfield. From growing up farming in Missouri, he remembers learning from Pogo, "We have met the Enemy, and He is Us." Chosen bumper sticker: "Make America Green Again."

Chronicler - Gary Bangs
Term of office - January 1, 2023 to December 31, 2024        (First term began January 1, 2021)
Gary has been a consistent Salt Watch monitor, checking waterways for road salt pollution and keeping an eye out for road salt spills and improperly stored salt piles. Gary lives in Springfield. You can often find him walking his dog along Accotink Creek while rescuing trees from invasive vines and picking up litter.

Board member at Large - Brian Slawski
Term of office - January 1, 2024 to December 31, 2025       (First term began January 1, 2024)
I'm a native of Fairfax County. My naturalist skills are quite rudimentary, and I don't find a lot of time to spend outdoors these days, but I've had great experiences camping and hiking in Boy Scouts. I joined FAcC because I had started to appreciate the importance of local environmental action, because I wanted to learn more about environmental science and challenges in the region, and frankly because I found it was really good for my mood to get outside and do some collective manual work towards a meaningful goal. Lately I've done some volunteering on biological and physical stream monitoring with the Northern Virginia Soil & Water Conservation District, as well as the Salt Watch and Nitrate Watch programs of the Izaak Walton League of America.

Summary Profile of the Accotink Creek Watershed
Detailed Profile of the Accotink Creek Watershed
Accotink Creek runs through one of the finest wildlife corridors in Fairfax County. Accotink Creek passes through Eakin, Wakefield, Lake Accotink and Accotink Stream Valley Parks; Ft. Belvoir and the Accotink Bay Wildlife Refuge, then drains into the Potomac River, affecting waters of Chesapeake Bay. We, the Friends of Accotink Creek, are committed to protecting, promoting and restoring the water quality, natural habitat, and ecological well-being of the Accotink Creek watershed. We intend to: Foster environmental awareness, education, and enhance recreational use; Reduce storm runoff and its effects; restore habitats, preserve land; and Enlist broad-based public and organization participation and support. Contact Friends of Accotink Creek Join Friends of Accotink Creek The Friends of Accotink Creek Board of Conservators:
Primary Conservator - Sandy Collins Term of office - January 1, 2023 to December 31, 2024 (First term began January 1, 2019) Sandy is a Senior Vice President specializing in natural resources assessments and permit compliance at AKRF, Inc. She has conducted ecological studies and permitting for major waterfront parks, coastal resiliency and adaptation studies, art installations, and other civic projects. Her experience includes field investigations to evaluate environmental impacts, including aquatic and terrestrial biota surveys and water quality and environmental impact assessments, including impacts of stormwater management. Sandy earned a master's degree and bachelor's degree from Lehigh University. Secondary Conservator - Avril Garland Term of office - January 1, 2023 to December 31, 2024 (First term began January 1, 2021) Lives in Vienna, Va. Invasive management site leader for Accotink Trail trailhead. (on the boundary of Vienna and Fairfax), member of Sierra Club. A personal belief: "We do not inherit the earth from our parents; we borrow it from our children". Chief Seattle Respect silence: No one should intrude upon the small scraps of it left in our increasingly noisy world without a pretty sound reason. Firing up gas-powered landscape equipment is not one of them. No one should dump their acoustic trash into the yards and homes of their neighbors. Purser - Dave Lincoln Term of office - January 1, 2024 to December 31, 2025 (First term began January 1, 2024) Having seen a lot of trash sailing the seven seas in the Navy, and while sailing and kayaking the Potomac, Dave enjoys working with Friends who work to nip it in the bud. He lives along the Accotink in Springfield. From growing up farming in Missouri, he remembers learning from Pogo, "We have met the Enemy, and He is Us." Chosen bumper sticker: "Make America Green Again." Chronicler - Gary Bangs Term of office - January 1, 2023 to December 31, 2024 (First term began January 1, 2021) Gary has been a consistent Salt Watch monitor, checking waterways for road salt pollution and keeping an eye out for road salt spills and improperly stored salt piles. Gary lives in Springfield. You can often find him walking his dog along Accotink Creek while rescuing trees from invasive vines and picking up litter. Board member at Large - Brian Slawski Term of office - January 1, 2024 to December 31, 2025 (First term began January 1, 2024) I'm a native of Fairfax County. My naturalist skills are quite rudimentary, and I don't find a lot of time to spend outdoors these days, but I've had great experiences camping and hiking in Boy Scouts. I joined FAcC because I had started to appreciate the importance of local environmental action, because I wanted to learn more about environmental science and challenges in the region, and frankly because I found it was really good for my mood to get outside and do some collective manual work towards a meaningful goal. Lately I've done some volunteering on biological and physical stream monitoring with the Northern Virginia Soil & Water Conservation District, as well as the Salt Watch and Nitrate Watch programs of the Izaak Walton League of America.